Plex not HW transcoding for some videos

Plex Media Server
1

I have a user streaming right now and I noticed that it’s not HW transcoding. I tested out like 6 or 7 videos (all H.264) just now, and only 1 was using HW transcoding. Any ideas? some of the logs below:
Server Version#:Latest
Player Version#:Latest

logs

Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.242 [6520] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.242 [9312] DEBUG - Request: [68.134.129.64:45114 (WAN)] GET /video/:/transcode/universal/decision?protocol=hls&mediaIndex=0&waitForSegments=1 (19 live) TLS GZIP Signed-in Token (Kevin)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.242 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Found session GUID of 6090d707-b449-4715-8f07-fe82888393bc-1 in session start.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.245 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] TranscodeUniversalRequest: using augmented profile Roku-7.x
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.245 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Downloading document http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/1522?includeBandwidths=1&offset=0&X-Plex-Client-Capabilities=videoDecoders%3Dh264{profile%3Ahigh%26resolution%3A1080%26level%3D41}%3BaudioDecoders%3Daac{channels%3A2}&X-Plex-Incomplete-Segments=1&X-Plex-Session-Identifier=f1a0146e47fb6a69cb55ae70cc210c6b
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.246 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.249 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] We’re going to try to auto-select an audio stream for account 49890673.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.249 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Selecting best audio stream for part ID 3440 (autoselect: 1 language: en)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.249 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] We’re going to try to auto-select a subtitle.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.249 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Audio Stream: 8059, Subtitle Stream: -1
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.250 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_nvenc (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.251 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvenc
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.251 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.251 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.251 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.251 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.541 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Intel® Quick Sync Video H.264 Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.590 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.590 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.590 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.590 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.591 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.591 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.591 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.676 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: Testing with profile ‘High’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.681 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 12028Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.681 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled maximum bitrate for resolution reduction to 3421Kbps.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.681 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.683 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Microsoft AAC Audio Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.684 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mpegts
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 3426
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): Direct Play is disabled
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/h264/dca
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Pacific Rim - video.width limitation applies: 1920 > 1024
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Pacific Rim - video.width limitation applies: 1920 > 1024
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_nvenc (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvenc
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.685 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.839 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Intel® Quick Sync Video H.264 Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.881 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Pacific Rim - video.width limitation applies: 1920 > 1024
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.881 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.881 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.882 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.882 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.882 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.882 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.882 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.882 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.925 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: Testing with profile ‘High’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.929 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 12028Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.929 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled maximum bitrate for resolution reduction to 3421Kbps.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.929 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.930 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Microsoft AAC Audio Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.931 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream audio stream due to codec dca when profile only allows mp3
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.931 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): selected media 0 / 3426
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.931 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Calculated bandwidth of 3795kbps exceeds bandwidth limit. Changing decision parameters provided by client to fit bandwidth limit of 2000kbps
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.931 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Determining preferred transcode encoders through transcode only decision.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.931 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_nvenc (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.932 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvenc
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.932 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.932 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.932 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:12.932 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.079 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Intel® Quick Sync Video H.264 Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.108 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.108 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.108 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.108 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.108 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.108 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.108 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.148 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: Testing with profile ‘High’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.152 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 12028Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.152 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled maximum bitrate for resolution reduction to 3421Kbps.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.152 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.153 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Microsoft AAC Audio Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.154 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_nvenc (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.154 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvenc
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.154 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.154 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.154 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.154 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.306 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Intel® Quick Sync Video H.264 Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.349 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.350 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.350 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.350 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.350 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.350 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.350 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.389 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: Testing with profile ‘High’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.394 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 12028Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.394 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled maximum bitrate for resolution reduction to 3421Kbps.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.394 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.394 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Microsoft AAC Audio Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.396 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reducing playback quality for 1904kbps stream bitrate: video resolution to 1024x576, audio channels to 2, quality to 0
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.396 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_nvenc (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.396 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvenc
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.396 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.396 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.396 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.396 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.545 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Intel® Quick Sync Video H.264 Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.574 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.574 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.574 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.574 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.574 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.574 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.574 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.613 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: Testing with profile ‘High’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.617 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 12028Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.617 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled maximum bitrate for resolution reduction to 3421Kbps.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.617 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.618 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Microsoft AAC Audio Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mpegts
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 3426
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): Direct Play is disabled
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/h264/dca
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Pacific Rim - video.width limitation applies: 1920 > 1024
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Pacific Rim - audio.channels limitation applies: 6 > 2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Pacific Rim - video.width limitation applies: 1920 > 1024
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.619 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_nvenc (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.620 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvenc
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.620 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.620 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.620 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.620 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.768 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Intel® Quick Sync Video H.264 Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.813 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Pacific Rim - video.width limitation applies: 1920 > 1024
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.813 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.814 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.814 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.814 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load nvcuda.dll
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.814 [9312] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.814 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.815 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264 (decoder) with hwdevice dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.815 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API dxva2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.860 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: Testing with profile ‘High’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.865 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 12028Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.865 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled maximum bitrate for resolution reduction to 3421Kbps.
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.865 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.866 [9312] INFO - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - MFT name: ‘Microsoft AAC Audio Encoder MFT’
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.867 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Pacific Rim - audio.channels limitation applies: 6 > 2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.867 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream audio stream due to profile or setting limitations
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.867 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Pacific Rim (2013): selected media 0 / 3426
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.868 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Adding session 0xc67de08:f1a0146e47fb6a69cb55ae70cc210c6b which is using 1959kbps of WAN bandwidth. Used is now 1959kbps
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.868 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Adding session 0xc67de08:f1a0146e47fb6a69cb55ae70cc210c6b which is using transcoder slot. Used slots is now 1
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.868 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Added session 0xc67de08:f1a0146e47fb6a69cb55ae70cc210c6b
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.868 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reached Decision id=1522 codes=(General=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK. Direct Play=3000,App cannot direct play this item. Direct play is disabled. Transcode=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK.) media=(id=3426 part=(id=3440 decision=transcode container=mpegts protocol=hls streams=(Video=(id=8058 decision=transcode bitrate=1769 encoder=h264_mf width=1024 height=576) Audio=(id=8059 decision=transcode bitrate=96 encoder=libmp3lame channels=2 rate=48000))))
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:13.869 [6520] DEBUG - Completed: [68.134.129.64:45114] 200 GET /video/:/transcode/universal/decision?protocol=hls&mediaIndex=0&waitForSegments=1 (19 live) TLS GZIP 1626ms 3776 bytes (pipelined: 4)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.266 [6520] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.266 [2656] DEBUG - Request: [68.134.129.64:45121 (WAN)] GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F1 (19 live) TLS Signed-in Token (Kevin)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.266 [2656] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo transcoder: Request for url [/library/media/3426/chapterImages/1] (is local: 1 upscaled: 0)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.268 [2656] DEBUG - [Transcode] Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.274 [2656] DEBUG - [Transcode] Calling back into ourselves for photo to transcode, optimizing the process (status: -1)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.275 [2656] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo cache obtained 15027 bytes from /library/media/3426/chapterImages/1
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.275 [2656] DEBUG - [Transcode] Saving original media file to C:\Users\Plex Server\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\PhotoTranscoder\f8\f8ae07b24b3b6955d1fb220b395abb89207af479.jpg
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.284 [8500] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.284 [1972] DEBUG - Request: [68.134.129.64:45118 (WAN)] GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F2 (19 live) TLS Signed-in Token (Kevin)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.285 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo transcoder: Request for url [/library/media/3426/chapterImages/2] (is local: 1 upscaled: 0)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.286 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.292 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Calling back into ourselves for photo to transcode, optimizing the process (status: -1)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.292 [6520] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.293 [9312] DEBUG - Request: [68.134.129.64:45120 (WAN)] GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F3 (19 live) TLS Signed-in Token (Kevin)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.294 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo cache obtained 98804 bytes from /library/media/3426/chapterImages/2
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.294 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Saving original media file to C:\Users\Plex Server\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\PhotoTranscoder\bf\bf020250f53e93f154c5b1b8180511b2952c3b2a.jpg
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.294 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo transcoder: Request for url [/library/media/3426/chapterImages/3] (is local: 1 upscaled: 0)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.296 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.301 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Calling back into ourselves for photo to transcode, optimizing the process (status: -1)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.302 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo cache obtained 96656 bytes from /library/media/3426/chapterImages/3
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.302 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Saving original media file to C:\Users\Plex Server\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\PhotoTranscoder\23\2343dcb470c7504bde98d9a43971f3ead5b33593.jpg
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.302 [8500] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.314 [9444] DEBUG - Request: [68.134.129.64:45119 (WAN)] GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F4 (19 live) TLS Signed-in Token (Kevin)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.314 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo transcoder: Request for url [/library/media/3426/chapterImages/4] (is local: 1 upscaled: 0)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.315 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.317 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Calling back into ourselves for photo to transcode, optimizing the process (status: -1)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.317 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo cache obtained 57395 bytes from /library/media/3426/chapterImages/4
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.317 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Saving original media file to C:\Users\Plex Server\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\PhotoTranscoder\0e\0e34bb490204d023041b492ba221569269af1b07.jpg
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.319 [2656] DEBUG - [Transcode] Created thumbnail of size 296x167, has pixels: 1
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.322 [6520] DEBUG - Completed: [68.134.129.64:45121] 200 GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F1 (19 live) TLS 55ms 1070 bytes (pipelined: 7)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.327 [9312] DEBUG - [Transcode] Created thumbnail of size 296x167, has pixels: 1
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.329 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Created thumbnail of size 296x167, has pixels: 1
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.331 [6520] DEBUG - Completed: [68.134.129.64:45120] 200 GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F3 (19 live) TLS 38ms 10002 bytes (pipelined: 6)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.333 [6520] DEBUG - Completed: [68.134.129.64:45118] 200 GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F2 (19 live) TLS 48ms 8568 bytes (pipelined: 7)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.337 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Created thumbnail of size 296x167, has pixels: 1
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.340 [6520] DEBUG - Completed: [68.134.129.64:45119] 200 GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F4 (19 live) TLS 37ms 5752 bytes (pipelined: 8)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.365 [6520] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.365 [9444] DEBUG - Request: [68.134.129.64:45121 (WAN)] GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F5 (19 live) TLS Signed-in Token (Kevin)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.365 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo transcoder: Request for url [/library/media/3426/chapterImages/5] (is local: 1 upscaled: 0)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.365 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.367 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Calling back into ourselves for photo to transcode, optimizing the process (status: -1)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.367 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo cache obtained 39981 bytes from /library/media/3426/chapterImages/5
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.367 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Saving original media file to C:\Users\Plex Server\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\PhotoTranscoder\8b\8b9e6ecc27e000b529776a99922656e1019a2bb8.jpg
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.372 [8500] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.372 [1972] DEBUG - Request: [68.134.129.64:45120 (WAN)] GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F6 (19 live) TLS Signed-in Token (Kevin)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.372 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo transcoder: Request for url [/library/media/3426/chapterImages/6] (is local: 1 upscaled: 0)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.372 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Auth: authenticated user 49890673 as Kevin
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.373 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Calling back into ourselves for photo to transcode, optimizing the process (status: -1)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.374 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Photo cache obtained 15999 bytes from /library/media/3426/chapterImages/6
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.374 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Saving original media file to C:\Users\Plex Server\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\PhotoTranscoder\09\094d9b833e59ea277b9ee0954697c0ee9049be2a.jpg
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.383 [9444] DEBUG - [Transcode] Created thumbnail of size 296x167, has pixels: 1
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.386 [6520] DEBUG - Completed: [68.134.129.64:45121] 200 GET /photo/:/transcode?url=%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F3426%2FchapterImages%2F5 (19 live) TLS 20ms 5895 bytes (pipelined: 8)
Dec 19, 2020 20:20:14.387 [1972] DEBUG - [Transcode] Created thumbnail of size 296x167, has pixels: 1

2

Also no idea if it’s relevant or not, but my users have their quality set to 2Mbps 720p but my dashboard almost always says they’re streaming 2Mbps but in either SD or 480p

3

I’m having similar issues.

I am trying to hardware transcode HEVC videos to Chrome. The server is running an Intel Core I5 5th Gen Cpu which I know is not the best or latest.

I have both Use hardware acceleration when available and Use hardware-accelerated video encoding enabled in the transcoder section and when I try and play an HEVC Main 10 video it hangs for around 2 minutes before it starts playing.

I’ve watched my system services closely and noticed that the transcoder starts up with the command line to use hardware acceleration, but eventually that crashes and starts up again without any hardware acceleration command line flags. So when it finally starts playing, it’s after the first instance has timed out and crashed and is playing on a second transcoder instance. This seems to be confirmed when I stop the video where I see two icons for the same movie under continue watching.

I am also running Emby side by side wiht Plex at the moment and it has no such issues at all. When I press play, the same movie starts playing within 2 seconds and it uses full hardware decoding and encoding.

I’m attaching a couple of logs as well as a couple of images.

Hope someone can help.

Full Hardware Transcoding on Emby.
Emby

Plex logs playing the same movie with Hardware transcoding enabled.
Hardware.log (174.7 KB)

4

Intel 5th Gen processors do not support decoding HEVC video using QuickSync graphics. They support decoding of AVC (H.264), VC-1, & MPEG2. They support encoding to AVC/H.264.

When transcoding HEVC video in Plex, you should see the decode occur in software and the encode occur in hardware.

If your CPU is not strong enough to decode HEVC video in real time, then you will experience buffering, pausing, etc when transcoding HEVC video. See What kind of CPU do I need for my Server? for additional details.

Edit:

  1. You can monitor playback via Plex Dashboard → Now Playing to see if hardware acceleration is in use.
  2. Intel 6th Gen processors can decode HEVC 8-bit video using QuickSync graphics. Intel 7th Gen & later processors can decode HEVC 10-bit video using QuickSync graphics.
  3. Nvidia 1050 or later graphics cards support decoding HEVC 10-bit video. See Nvidia Video Encode and Decode GPU Support Matrix for details.
  4. No idea about AMD GPUs & PMS on Windows. AFAIK, they do not publish a support matrix like Nvidia. PMS on Linux does not support hardware acceleration using AMD GPUs.

Reference: 5th Gen Intel Core Processor Datasheet, Volume 1, Section 2.2, Processor Graphics, Page 23.

Screenshot (486)
Screenshot (486)711×219 12.2 KB

Screenshot (487)
Screenshot (487)708×449 26.7 KB

5

If you want to double check things, resolution and bandwidth for transcoded video is displayed in debug level log files.

Look in Plex Media Server.log (wraps to .1 to .5) for lines with “video resolution.”

Examples:
Remote client configured with 720p/3 Mbps limit. Video is 1080p.
Jan 23, 2021 14:49:07.569 [0x7f6e12840700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reducing playback quality for 2857kbps stream bitrate: video resolution to 720x406, audio channels to 2, disable video DS as 9801kbps is > the 2613kbps available, disable audio DS as 640kbps is > the 232kbps available

Plex server limiting remote playback to 1080p/8Mbps. Video is 1080p.
Jan 22, 2021 00:52:20.717 [0x7f6dc3a23700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reducing playback quality for 7619kbps stream bitrate: video resolution to 1920x1040, audio channels to 6, quality to 9, disable video DS as 14159kbps is > the 7261kbps available, disable audio DS as 640kbps is > the 333kbps available

6

Thanks for the detailed reply.

On double checking, I see I do in fact have a 6th Gen CPU. Obviously hardware limitations are what they are, I’m just struggling with video playback on Plex and the exact same content on Emby streams flawlessly. I can’t seek with Plex, the video never recovers, but on Emby it takes literally a second and resumes playback at the point I select.

7

Hi, Just some more feedback on this issue.

Understanding everything about the 6th Gen CPU limitations, I am still finding inconsistencies and erratic handling of encoding by Plex.

I’ve attached two transcode logs for two movies. Both movies are HEVC 10-Bit Encoded files. One plays back fine with hardware transcoding and the other doesn’t. They are similar sizes with the same framerates.

Accellerated Software

Accellerated.log (38.7 KB) Software.log (29.5 KB) Plex Media Server.log (8.4 MB)

Also attached are the transcode logs for both files as well as the server log.

When the file that transcodes using hardware is played, it starts up immediately and plays perfectly. I’ve checked CPU performance and GPU is indeed being utilized as expected.

The other file takes over a minute before it starts playing in software mode. On further investigation, it seems that the plextranscoder.exe file tries to use hardware acceleration and seemingly times out or crashes before starting another instance in software mode. If I kill the transcoder process another one starts up immediately and then playback starts straight away.

I’ve even tried playing back 4K HEVC Main-10 HDR content and it successfully transcodes in hardware, so I’m very confused.

I use both Plex and Emby, and Emby seems to handle this perfectly with absolutely no transcoding issues at all. All my content transcodes using hardware transcoding perfectly.

Cheers,

8

It is unclear why one movie is using accelerated transcoding and the other is not. Please turn off verbose logging and re-gather the information. Also, include the XML information for each movie.

  1. Which specific Intel CPU is in your system? Available in Windows settings → System → About.

  2. Configure Plex server for debug, not verbose, logging. See Reporting Issues with Plex Media Server for details.

  3. In Settings → Transcoder, uncheck Enable HDR tone mapping. Make sure Use hardware acceleration when available and Use hardware-accelerated video encoding are both enabled.

  4. In Settings → Plex Web → Quality, set Home Streaming = Use Recommended Settings.

  5. With no other streaming on the server, play Synchronic for 20 - 30 seconds. Stop. Play News of the World for 20 - 30 seconds. Stop. Wait 1 minute for the server to log everything.

  6. Pull the logs. Settings → Troubleshooting → Download Logs. Attach the entire ZIP file to the thread.

  7. Pull the XML information for each movie. Save the information as a .txt or .log file (the forum does not permit uploading of .xml files). Attach the information to the thread. See Investigate Media Information and Formats for info on pulling the XML information.

9

Ok.

I made all the configuration changes you suggested. Apart from verbose logging on, everything was set to what you specified. Attached are the logs you need as well as the XML info for both videos.

Happy hunting.

CPU Info.txt (336 Bytes)
Synchronise.txt (38.8 KB)
News Of The World.txt (69.3 KB)
Plex Media Server Logs_2021-02-13_07-36-54.zip (89.0 KB)

10

I need to make a small correction here.

4K does not decode using hardware as I mentioned here, but it does encode using hardware which is what I would expect with both hardware transcoding options ticked in the settings, and it also starts playing quickly instead of taking over a minute to crash and then start up in software mode only.

11

Would it help if I had to send you a couple of sample video snippets? I can cut say a minute from each movie if that would help.

12

Apologies for the delay in responding. My Internet service has been out for several days due to weather issues. I’m in via a hotspot, but mobile service has occasionally dropped out as well. Hopefully fully back online by the end of the week…

Thanks for sending the additional info.

I’ve been over the info several times and searched other forum threads and on the Internet.

The short answer is I cannot tell why Plex is having trouble with News of the World. The log files show what is happening, but I cannot tell why it is happening. Maybe someone else can take a look and see what is happening.

The best I can tell, Plex is handling Synchronic correctly, using hardware acceleration. Plex tries to use hardware acceleration for News of the World, then falls back to software. I cannot tell why this is happening - Plex error, driver error, bad movie file, or something else.

If the problem happens with just one or two files, then there is probably a problem with the file that prevents Plex from handling it correctly (even though other programs may handle it OK).

You should also run Windows Update to make sure you have the latest video driver version.

Attaching a short snippet of the movie could help as well. I most likely won’t be able to look at it for a couple of days (aforementioned Internet issues), but someone else might be able to help.

Additional details below.

i5-6200U and 10-bit HEVC video

Intel i5-6200U (Skylake), HD Graphics 520 (ark.intel.com)

Per the Intel datasheet, the 6200U can decode 8-bit HEVC, but not 10-bit HEVC (Section 2.2.2.1 Hardware Accelerated Video Decode, pg 27-28).

However, the log files show Plex is using hardware acceleration for both Synchronic and News of the World (both 10-bit HEVC):

Synchronic:

Feb 13, 2021 07:31:30.476 [0904] DEBUG - [Transcode] Synchronic - video.bitDepth limitation applies: 10 > 8
Feb 13, 2021 07:31:30.729 [0904] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reached Decision id=35996 codes=(General=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK. Direct Play=3000,App cannot direct play this item. Direct play is disabled. Transcode=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK.) media=(id=72626 part=(id=73281 decision=transcode container=mpegts protocol=hls streams=(Video=(id=154370 decision=transcode bitrate=9004 encoder=h264_qsv width=1920 height=804) Audio=(id=154371 decision=copy channels=6 rate=48000))))
Feb 13, 2021 07:31:30.885 [0904] DEBUG - [Transcode] TPU: hardware transcoding: final decoder: dxva2, final encoder: qsv

News of the World:

Feb 13, 2021 07:32:23.340 [12112] DEBUG - [Transcode] News of the World - video.bitDepth limitation applies: 10 > 8
Feb 13, 2021 07:32:23.590 [12112] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reached Decision id=35982 codes=(General=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK. Direct Play=3000,App cannot direct play this item. Direct play is disabled. Transcode=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK.) media=(id=73170 part=(id=73872 decision=transcode container=mpegts protocol=hls streams=(Video=(id=159262 decision=transcode bitrate=9441 encoder=h264_qsv width=1920 height=800) Audio=(id=159263 decision=copy channels=6 rate=48000))))
Feb 13, 2021 07:32:23.697 [12112] DEBUG - [Transcode] TPU: hardware transcoding: final decoder: dxva2, final encoder: qsv

It may be correct for Plex to use hardware decoding for 10-bit HEVC video:

  • Intel released a driver update for Broadwell U processors enabling 10-bit HEVC decode (reference). I could not find a similar announcement for Skylake, but it seems odd Intel would enable the capability for Broadwell, a previous generation, and not Skylake, which can already decode 8-bit HEVC.
  • CPU Monkey also shows Intel HD Graphics 520 with the ability to decode 10-bit HEVC.

Plex fallback to software transcoding for News of the World

Here’s the log entries showing Plex falling back to software transcoding for News of the World.

Feb 13, 2021 07:34:24.436 [8520] ERROR - [Transcoder] [Parsed_scale_qsv_1 @ 02833fc0] Error synchronizing the operation: -21
Feb 13, 2021 07:34:24.437 [8520] ERROR - [Transcoder] Error while filtering: Unknown error occurred
Feb 13, 2021 07:34:24.437 [8520] ERROR - [Transcoder] Failed to inject frame into filter network: Unknown error occurred
Feb 13, 2021 07:34:24.437 [8520] ERROR - [Transcoder] Error while processing the decoded data for stream #0:0
Feb 13, 2021 07:34:24.522 [11316] DEBUG - Jobs: 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Plex Transcoder.exe' exit code for process 6904 is 1 (failure)
Feb 13, 2021 07:34:24.522 [3632] DEBUG - Streaming Resource: Changing client to use software decoding

I searched the forum using “Error while filtering.” I found one relevant thread, but there was no solution mentioned.

13

Thanks for the reply.

To answer a couple of your points.

  1. Windows updates are all up to date.
  2. Drivers are up to date, using intel driver support assistant.
  3. This issue happens on a lot of titles, not just one or two.

I’m attaching a sample 1 Minute cut from each of the movies. I used FFMPEG to cut it using the following commandline to avoid any conversion.

ffmpeg -ss 00:00:00 -i in.mp4 -t 00:01:00 -c copy out.mp4

One was in an MKV container and the other in an MP4 container. I’ve kept that the same.

News of the World (2020).zip (8.9 MB)
Synchronic (2020).zip (10.9 MB)

Many thanks.

14

So some follow up and further investigation from my end.

I installed Plex server, (same latest version) on my 7th Gen laptop and added the same libraries to it. Using the same clients, tried to play the same content and it identified and hardware transcoded it quickly and perfectly. Switching to the 6th Gen, on the same client and it doesn’t work.

So, it would seem the content is definitely not the issue.

I also delved into a ton of technical documents regarding the processor generations and I get the same answers as you. HEVC 10 Bit decoding is now supported on 6th gen Intel CPU’s, which is evident, as a lot of 10-Bit HEVC content does in fact transcode correctly, but not all.

@FordGuy61 have you managed to find anything further on your end?

Cheers,

15

I’m not sure there is much more I can do to help. I don’t have a 6th gen system with which to test. You’ve seemingly eliminated content issue by testing on a 7th gen system.

Someone from Plex will probably have to dig into things, as they’ll have visibility into what is happening at a deeper level with the Plex transcoder and how it interacts with Intel’s graphics systems & drivers.

16

I fully understand. I appreciate all the help and insight you’ve given.

One last thing. Is there an official channel to report bugs directly to Plex?

Cheers

17

The forums are the only channel.

Since you’re not the OP and this thread has been open awhile, you might try opening a new thread. Put in the basics, then add the URL for this thread for the details. Tag it with “server-windows” and give it a descriptive title, “PMS not hardware transcoding all HEVC videos” or similar.

18

I’ll do that, Thanks. I appreciate all the advice and assistance.

19

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